Continuing the review of Job's Body, we find in the introduction (pp. xxviii-xxxi) a discussion of the importance of subjective data regarding our health. We have been discouraged from applying "how we feel" to our diagnosis of our health and replaced it with objective data about the state of our health. Data such as weight and body fat (BMI), cholesterol levels along with a full battery of blood analysis is used to tell us whether we are healthy and to suggest medication and/or dietary changes necessary for us to meet the health norms. Juhan states that, "Behind that acculturated blindness lies the reason for most of the ailments, diseases and strokes that typify contemporary culture".
Rather than discounting the information provided by science, Juhan would suggest that we add to that our own awareness of the sensations that precede, accompany and follow changes in our physical wellbeing. His point to bodyworkers is that the body work "delivers self-awareness rather than pharmaceuticals or scalpels" to aid in making the changes necessary for health.
It has become my personal stance that we need to take full responsibility for our heath, our fitness, and our aging, if we expect to live full vibrant lives throughout, no matter what the age. In fact, that is the primary objective of this blog. I want to be fully aware of all information available from all sources, in order to make the best decisions based on self awareness. There are dangers in this approach, but much less dangerous than to allow the medical community to do this for us, using the same incomplete information.
One of my favorite lines relative to the role of science in our lives comes from The Fourth Way by P.D. Ouspensky, as he attempts to lay out the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Paraphrasing what Ouspensky says about science: "Science is not a cloudy picture of a real world, but a very clear picture of an unreal world." Suggesting that science does not tell the full story, in fact, obscures the full story.
In making the case for self awareness, Juhan states, "Far from being mere hedonism, 'the improvement of sensual pleasure' is self-serving in the broadest, most enlightened and responsible sense of the word. It implies an intimate embrace of the good things that both physical and mental sides of life have to offer, and a desire to enjoy those goodnesses with others".
Rather than citing examples from each and every one of my sources to support the above, I will make just a few comments. It is apparent to me that all movement modalities and/or manipulation therapies have at their base an enhancement of self awareness that in itself is movement towards health. Taijiquan and yoga directly bring awareness to our body's alignment, release of tension and an increase in essential energy called qi and prana respectively. Alexander Technique and Body Mind Centering are even more focused on the elements of self responsibility and self awareness in their contribution to letting the body heal itself.
In the movement system expounded in Supple Leopard there is equal treatment given to correct exercise techniques along with the maintenance of suppleness in connective tissue and joints. The level of attention given to the proper care of the body before, during and after exercise brings the Supple Leopard to the same level of self awareness that may seem more integral to the more meditative movement systems.
Not one of my stated sources, but a current source of information is Ken Wibur's, "A Brief History of Everything." I have taken from my current reading that changes in "World Views" is an evolutionary process and that there are signs that we are moving from a current "Rational/Industrial" world view to a post-rational world view; which, in my opinion, may very well included subjective self awareness as relevant in determining our state of health and how we attain and maintain it at an optimal level.
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